SPOTLIGHT
DONOR
Dr. Zach W. Hall and Julie Ann Giacobassi You might think a scientist and an English horn player would have little in common, what with one being more of a pragmatist and the other a creative musician. But when Dr. Zach W. Hall and Julie Ann Giacobassi first met, backstage after a San Francisco Symphony concert, they found they shared many similar interests — including a mission to help improve lives through education and equity. “Both science and music involve searching and testing — always trying to make the music or the experiment better,” Julie says. “And we both believe in helping others and paying it forward.” That is exactly what they’ve done as longtime supporters of basic science, specifically neuroscience, at Morehouse School of Medicine. Over time they have helped raise more than $775,000 for the Zach Hall Neuroscience Endowed Scholarship, the Drs. Peter and Marlene MacLeish Endowed Lectureship, and the Furshpan Potter Endowed and Direct Scholarship Funds. “Morehouse School of Medicine’s primary aim is health equity,” Zach says. “Training researchers in basic science and neuroscience may seem to have no direct connection to health equity, but it is an important investment in our medical future. We must engage and encourage talent from all segments of our population.” Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been important topics in Zach’s life since his childhood in segregated Atlanta. As a teen, he hosted a thoughtful conversation at his church about equity with students from Morehouse (continued on next page) Morehouse School of Medicine
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